Man charged with child neglect

December 12, 2012

MARTINSBURG - A Martinsburg man was arraigned Monday night on one count of felony child neglect after a child was found earlier this year living in squalid conditions at a Martinsburg home.

As of Tuesday, Joshua Craig Adams, 30, of South Kentucky Avenue, remained in custody at Eastern Regional Jail on $10,000 bail.

According to court records, on Oct. 11, Martinsburg Police Department Patrolman W. Staub responded to 409 S. Kentucky Ave. to attempt to locate a suspect in a larceny.

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Joshua Craig Adams

Staub told Adams he was looking for his brother, who also resided there. Adams said he wasn't home, but granted the officer consent to search the residence. Staub noticed there was a "severe rotten smell" coming from the entire residence, records show.

He also found there was an 8-year-old living in the home with Adams. As Staub walked through the first room of the house, there was evidence that there were multiple cats living in the house. There was hardly any furniture, and the furniture that was in the home had cat feces on the cushions. Staub noticed cat feces all over the kitchen counter and dishes with rotten food left in them. The officer also found trash and overflowing litter boxes all over the downstairs area of the home, records show.

Upstairs, the officers saw approximately eight to 10 cats running around. In the child's bedroom, there also was an overflowing litter box and multiple bowls of cat food on the floor, as well as a pile of dirty dishes in a corner.

Staub found cat feces and "filth" all over the bathroom. The toilet had no water in it and appeared to be broken, records show.

At that point, Staub had everyone exit the house and began to make arrangements to have the boy taken somewhere else. He was later turned over to the custody of his grandmother, records show.

Staub photographed the condition of the house and made contact with Berkeley County Animal Control. Animal Control told the owner of the house that he had until Oct. 14 to clean it up or they would respond back and seize the cats, records show.

Staub then consulted with the Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney's Office and was told there were grounds to charge Adams with child neglect. If convicted, Adams faces a fine of up to $3,000 and/or one to five years in prison.